FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2023

City of Morgantown to Hold Public Hearing Regarding Five-Year Consolidated Plan

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Notice is hereby given that the City of Morgantown, Monongalia County, WV will hold an in-person and virtual public hearing on Thursday, November 30, 2023, at 3:00 p.m., prevailing time, in the first-floor Conference Room at 430 Spruce Street, Morgantown, WV.  The 430 Spruce Street building and the first-floor conference room are accessible to persons with physical disabilities. If special arrangements need to be made to accommodate any resident for them to participate in the public hearing, including translation services, please call Ms. Robyn Hess, Grant Writer, City of Morgantown, at 304-284-7479, to make those arrangements, or for persons who may have a hearing impediment, please contact 7-1-1 for the TTY/TTD relay.  Participants may also attend this public hearing virtually by joining the Zoom meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83011120093 (Zoom meeting ID 830 1112 0093). 

The purpose of this public hearing is to gather information for the City’s Five-Year Consolidated Plan for FY 2024-2028, the Annual Action Plan for 2024, and to update the City’s Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (A.I.), which the City must submit to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Entitlement Funds.  Additionally, the hearing will be used to solicit the views and comments of individuals and organizations concerning the housing, community and economic development, and fair housing needs in the City of Morgantown.

Based on last year’s funding, the City of Morgantown anticipates being notified by the U.S. Department of HUD that it is eligible to receive a CDBG entitlement formula grant in the approximate amount of $471,116 for FY 2024, based on the previous FY 2023 CDBG allocation.  These funding levels are contingent upon the final approval of the Federal Budget for FY 2024.  The City does not anticipate notice of its funding allocation until Spring of 2024.  To receive those funds, the City of Morgantown must prepare a Five-Year Consolidated Plan and a One-Year Annual Action Plan for the use of Federal funds.  At least 70% of the CDBG funds must benefit low- and moderate-income people living in the City of Morgantown.

The following types of activities may be eligible for funding under the CDBG program: acquisition of property; disposition costs; improvements to public facilities, including the removal of architectural barriers; demolition and environmental clean-up; public services that are new or a quantifiable increase in the level of service; interim assistance; relocation payments for persons displaced as a result of a CDBG activity; affordable housing rehabilitation; special economic development activities; special activities undertaken by a community-based development organization; homeownership assistance for purchase; planning; environmental; program administration; audit; and other miscellaneous activities.

If the City would undertake an activity that would result in the displacement of families or individuals, then the City would utilize its policy for minimizing such displacement.  Furthermore, the City is responsible for replacing all low- and moderate-income housing units that may be demolished or converted as a result of the expenditure of CDBG funds.

The Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (A.I.) will focus on the status and interaction of six (6) fundamental conditions within the community:

•    The sale or rental of dwellings (public or private).

•    The provision of housing brokerage services.

•    The provision of financial assistance for dwellings.

•    Public policies and actions affecting the approval of sites and other building requirements used in the approval process for the construction of publicly assisted housing.

•    The administrative policies concerning community development and housing activities, which affect opportunities of minority households to select housing inside or outside areas of minority concentration; and

•    Where there is a determination of unlawful segregation or other housing discrimination by a court or a finding of noncompliance by HUD regarding assisted housing in a recipient’s jurisdiction, an analysis of the actions which could be taken by a recipient to remedy the discriminatory condition, including actions involving the expenditure of funds made available under 24 CFR Part 570. 

All interested residents are encouraged to attend this public hearing either in-person or virtually and they will be given the opportunity to present oral or written testimony concerning the needs of the City of Morgantown and the use of CDBG funds to address those needs over the next five (5) years.  Written or oral comments may be directed to Ms. Robyn Hess, Grant Writer, City of Morgantown, 430 Spruce Street, Morgantown, WV 26505, by phone at 304-284-7479, or by email to rhess@morgantownwv.gov.

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